Fastener



April 2, 1935. w, c McCOY 1,996,430

FASTENER Filed Aug. 26, 1932 IN VEN TOR.

BY hf/( A TTOR Y Patented Apr. 2, 1935 UNITED STATES FASTENER William C.McCoy, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to Hookless Fastener Company, acorporation of Pennsylvania Application August 26,

3 Claims.

This invention relates to separable fasteners and more particularly toslide operated fasteners embodying interlockable series of fastenerelements and a cooperating slider of the type shown in the patent toSundback, 1,219,881.

Heretofore it has been the usual practice to provide the interlockingelements with bifurcated or slotted base portions which serve to clampthe fastener elements in uniformly spaced relation to the beaded edgesof flexible tape stringers and to sew or otherwise attach the tapestringers to the edges of the article to be fastened. In suchconstructions the slots of the clamping portions of the fastenerelements extend longitudinally of the body portions thereof, thus makingnecessary the edgewise flexing of the stringer in its own plane duringthe operation of interlocking or disengaging the fastener elements.

Furthermore, in many types of articles, such as tobacco pouches, handbags, manuscript and brief cases and other articles of this type, thesides of the article which are to be fastened at their adjacent edgesextend parallel or at a small angle to each other. Obviously such sidescannot be bent edgewise, and this necessitates the use of very flexiblestringers extending substantially at right angles to the sides. Thesestringers can then be bent edgewise to permit the fastener elements tobe interlocked with and disengaged from each other. Movement of thesliders rapidly wears stringers in this type of construction.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide an improvedfastener construction in which the conventional tape stringers may beeliminated anc in which the individual fastener elementsmay be secureddirectly to the edges of the article to be fastened.

Another object is to provide an improved fastener construction whereinthe interlocking portions of the fastener elements are so placed thatthe articles to be fastened can bend normally or transversely instead ofedgewise, in opening and closing the fastener.

Another object is to provide a separable fastener construction in whichthe appearance of the article incorporating the fastener may be greatlyenhanced by the elimination of fabric tape stringers.

A further object is to provide a novel form of slider which isparticularly adapted for use with the improved fastener construction ofthe present invention.

With the above and other objects in view which will be apparent from thedetailed description to follow, the present invention consists incertain 1932, Serial No. 630,485

features of construction and combinations of parts which will be readilyunderstood by those :gilled in the art to which the invention apperins.

In the drawing, which illustrates a suitable embodiment of theinvention,

Fig. 1 is an isometric view of a bag with my improved fastener attached.

Fig. 2 is a plan of the assembled fastener.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section taken approximately on the line 3-3 ofFig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of one of the fastener elements prior toassembly to the edge of an article to be fastened;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the fastener element illustrated in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the slider;

Fig. 7 is an end elevation of the slider illustrated in Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a view corresponding to Fig. 4, showing the fastener elementapplied to the article to be fastened.

Referring to the accompanying drawing, in which like numerals refer tolike parts throughout the several views, it will be seen that theseparable fastener construction of the present invention is particularlyuseful for various articles having parallel or angular portions, theedges of which are to be separably fastened together, such as hand bags,brief cases, manuscript cases, purses, tobacco pouches and the like.

The improved fastener construction of the present invention is shown forthe purpose of illustration, assembled to the edges of side portions land 2 of an article, such as a purse'or hand bag, which side portionsare substantially parallel adjacent the edges to be secured together bythe cooperating series of fastener elements 3 and 4, respectively.

Each fastener element 3 or 4 as the case may be, and as shown in Figs.3, 4 and 5, is in the form of a flat rectangular block and is providedat one side with an elongated tapered locking projection 5 arrangedtransversely of the block and substantially parallel to the plane of theside portion on which it is to be secured. The opposite side of the'block is formed with a correspondingly shaped recess 6 in the samerelative position as the projection 5 to receive the locking projection5 of the adjacent fastener element of the other series.

The body of the block of each fastener element is slotted transverselyat I substantially parallel to the projection 5 to provide clamping jawsB and 9, the jaw 9 carrying the projection 5. The 55 jaw 8 is bentoutwardly from the jaw 9 and is preferably provided with a recess III inits clamping face to receive a clamping element II in the form of aflexible wire extending continuously along the edge of the articleportion to which the fastener elements are to be attached. The jaw 9 hasa corresponding recess [0a.

The fastener elements 3 are disposed on the edge of the article portionI in uniformly spaced relation, with the edge of the portion l disposedin the slots 1. The clamping jaws 8 are bent toward the jaws 9 withconsiderable force to securely clamp the article portion therebetweenwith the wire clamping elements I l disposed in the recesses l0 and Illaand partially embedded due to the clamping force in the outer side ofthe side portion l. The fastener elements 4 are disposed on the edge ofand secured to the side portion 2 in the same manner that the fastenerelements 3 are secured to the side portion I.

It will be noted from the drawing that the fa'stener elements aredisposed at right angles to the article side portions l and 2 and withthe locking projections 5 parallel with the planes of the side portionsso that during the operation of the slider l2 in interlocking ordisengaging the fastener elements 3 and 4, the side portions I and 2will flex transversely and not edgewise. This is easily obtained, eventhough the elements are attached directly to the edges of article sideportions and even though the side portions may be of leather.

Furthermore, the appearance is improved by securing the fastenerelements directly to the edges eliminating conventional tape stringerswhich in many instances detract from the neat appearance of articlesprovided with separable fasteners.

The clamping elements H of flexible wire or other material distributeover a relatively wide area adjacent the edge of the article the forceson the interlocking elements. These clamping elements I I serve asretainers between one of the clamping jaws and the edge portion of thearticle and at the same time serve as a resilient stifiener for suchedge.

The element Il may be omitted and a bead or raised rib formed at theoneor both faces of the side portion adjacent the edge to serve as anadditional retaining means for the fastener elements.

The slider 12 comprises channel-shaped members embracing the threeadjacent outside s'urfaces of the fastener elements, including a topportion l3 to overlie the upper surfaces of the fastener elements 3 andI. spaced side portions 14 to extend across the ends of the fastenerelements, and in-turned flanges Ma engaging the under surfaces of thefastener elements 3 and 4 and thereby hold the slider in position on thefastener elements.

The slider I2 is wider at the upper end than a the lower end and has awedge portion l5 carried by the upper end thus providing a Y-shapedchannel l6 for guiding the fastener elements during operation.

For convenience in actuating the slider along the fastener elements 3and l, a suitable pull tab I1 is attached to the slider through a tracklug 18 or any suitable means.

The fastener construction of the present invention embodies manyadvantageous features which are not present in fasteners heretoforeknown, and is particularly useful for articles having parallel or nearlyparallel side portions, the edges of which are to be separably securedtogether.

Furtherfore, it is to be understood that the particular form offasteners shown and described, and the particular procedure set forth,are presented for purposes of explanation and illustration and thatvarious modifications of said f asteners and procedure can be madewithout departing from my invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is: I

1. In a device to be fastened, a pair of substantially flat flexiblemembers disposed substantially parallel to each other, a row of spacedelongated interlocking elements each having transversely extendinganchor portions embracing the edge of one of the members so that saidelements project sub stantially perpendicularly from the fiat surfacesof the member toward the fiat surfaces of the other member, a row ofsimilar interlocking elements similarly secured to the other member anddisposed opposite the spaces between the elements on the first-mentionedmember, said elements being adapted to be successively interlocked ordisengaged by movement in a plane transverse to the surfaces of themembers, and a slider mounted on the rows for interlocking ordisengaging the elements.

2. In a device to be fastened, a pair of substantially flat flexiblemembers disposed substantially parallel to each other, a row of spaced,elongated, substantially rectangular interlocking elements each havingtransversely extending anchor portions embracing the edge of one of themembers so that said elements project substantially perpendicularly fromthe flat surfaces of the member toward the flat surfaces of the othermember, a row of similar interlocking elements similarly secured to theother member and disposed opposite the spaces between the elements onthe first-mentioned member, said elements being adapted to besuccessively interlocked or disengaged by movement in a plane transverseto the surfaces of the member, and a slider for interlocking ordisengaging the elements, the slider having channelshaped membersengaging the three adjacent outside surfaces of the interlockingelements.

3. In a device to be fastened, a pair of substantially flat flexiblemembers disposed parallel to each other, a row of interlocking elementseach having anchor portions extending parallel and embracing the edge ofeach of said members so that said interlocking elements projectperpendicularly from the flat surfaces of the member toward the flatsurfaces of the. other member said elements adapted to be successivelyinterlocked or disengaged by flexing in a-plane transverse. to thesurfaces of the members, and stiffening means cooperating with saidflexible members for partially stiffening said members so that theaction of said interlocking elements during interlocking may be moreregular, and a slider mounted on the rows for interlocking ordisengaging the elements.

WILLIAM C. MCCOY.

